We have been informed of a recently circulated email regarding the use of aspirin, which included mention of Dr. Virend Somers and of Mayo Clinic. Neither Dr. Somers nor Mayo Clinic contributed to this email, which contains some information that is inaccurate and potentially harmful. We recommend that you speak with your physician if you have specific questions.
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What were the parts that were not accurate in the Virend Somers post on Aspirin:
IMPORTANT ASPIRIN INFORMATION
To add to your body of body knowledge:
Dr. Virend Somers, a cardiologist from the Mayo Clinic who is lead author of the report in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Most heart attacks occur in the day, generally between 6 A..M. and noon, Somers said. Having one during the night, when the heart should be most at rest, means that something unusual happened. Somers and his colleagues have been working for a decade to show that sleep apnea is to blame.
While the first two paragaphs are for the most part correct the rest of the email should be discussed with your physician
In general, we do not recommend obtaining advice on medical treatment from chain mailings,especially when they are of uncertain origin.
Aspirin is indeed appropriate for a heart attack but as with any medication, treatment needs to be individualized for each patient. There is no evidence to support potentially harmful recommendations such as not to lie down if you are having a heart attack. We cannot address other specific aspects of the emails since there have been many variations in their content. We recommend you discuss this with your physician.
I am one of the fortunate people who at 65 has low cholesterol and very little plaque in my arteries. I am also a regular blood donor, and as a donor, I avoid aspirin as much as I can because it thins the blood and they cannot use it for transfusions. This does not mean that persons on aspirin should not donate, their blood has many other uses that help save lives.
Stay healthy!
Hi,
I read your post and found it interesting — especially since my medical status is similar to yours. Some other members of my family are not so fortunate though. Heart disease is killing many of them off sooner than they would like.
Because of the similarity in our surnames, I want to tell you about a genealogy project. I am currently looking for descendants of Roman Pilakowski and Annie Martinski-Pilakowski-Zujewski. They had two sons named John and Edmond, and they were born about 1900 and 1904. I know after Roman died, Annie married John Zujewski and they lived in Douglas County, NE. I assume her young boys lived there, too. Later on, after John Zujewski died, Annie moved to Chicago and lived there during the 1930s census. I found evidence of Annie’s step daughter, Elizabeth Swiatnicki, living in Wisconsin after that. So, the entire family may have relocated there at some point. Sometimes relatives changed the spelling of their names a bit; for this reason, and I am wondering if you are related to our family.
Originally, in 1873, several Pilakowski ancestors immigrated from Iwno, Poland and settled in Cuyohoga Co, Ohio. A few years later, they moved on to homestead in NE. I have a copy of a 1869 marriage record from Iwno and 1873 immigration documents to the U.S. I also have other interesting family documents and some very old photos that I am sharing with relatives. Let me know if you are one of us, and I will freely share all of these artifacts with you. I feel it is important to pass the information along to others before I die.
Best wishes,
Diane
P.S. I am on facebook and we are planning on starting a family group there as well. You may want to participate. Pilakowski family members mainly live in NE, MI, CO, OR, WA, and HI, WI.
I am a Parish Nurse in NC and tought the e-mail was good information. I’m glad I followed up on the info.
I am a Parish Nurse in MN and thought the email was thought provoking, but I thought the information about using aspirin for all was too general. People should consult their doctor as to individual use. Read Dr. Verend Somers’ article in the July 29, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology quickly but did not see mention of aspirin treatment of heart attacks, so decided to search Mayo Clinic’s site and cross reference Mayo Clinic and apirin in the treatment of heart attack, and I came along this page’s comment. I too am glad I followed up on the info.
Who is the responsible author of the email “Aspirin Info”?
Why does the illustration of a Bayer product dominant the email?
My sentiments exactly. When you follow the money trail as to who benefits the most from this, it would be Bayer. Especially noteworthy is the suggestion about the NEW kind that disolves under your tongue…..I’m sure that sent a wave of readers to the store stock up on the newest remedy, even though they probably had the old bayer in the medicine cabinet.
I have always known that baby aspirin was good for your heart. – what happened ? Bayer stopped giving kickbacks ?
Pingback: Daily Aspirin Therapy: To Take or Not To Take | Patriots Patrol
my Dr. recommended Itake my aspirin at night, in light of when most heart attacks seeming ly occur
“take an aspirin and call me in the morning”
Greg, good point.
I guess if he takes the Aspirin, he WOULD BE AROUND to call his doctor (or anyone) in the morning. LOL.
Some probablistic info or recommendations with limited downside would be more useful than the comment above by Mayo.
If I am having a first suspected heart attack with no prior medical history, should I take the aspirin?
Is it likely to help?
Would the answer be different if there was likely a long delay in getting medical assistance eg live half an hour from hospital and ambulance and doctor?
Apart from ringing for assistance what are the steps that are highly likely to likely to help?
What are commonly talked about things I should not do?
Thank you for your questions. They have been referred for a reply.
Please see this link and the statement below: http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2010/02/28/misleading-aspirin-email-virend-somers-mayo-clinic/
We have been informed of a recently circulated email regarding the use of aspirin, which included mention of Dr. Virend Somers and of Mayo Clinic. Neither Dr. Somers nor Mayo Clinic contributed to this email, which contains some information that is inaccurate and potentially harmful. We recommend that you speak with your physician if you have specific questions.
Two bits on internet: there’s no value in posting a link to the page on which you have posted the link. That’s as useful as pulling yourself up by your hair…
Why would you post that link to its own page? Why not use this as an opportunity? Obviously viral emails will mean many people searching your site for verification. How about posting some useful info regarding the subject. Inaction or useless responses multiply the damage that could affect your credibility. Geez, you aren’t amateurs. Are you?
Thank you for participating in our conversation, if you would like to learn more about aspirin, please look at this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/daily-aspirin-therapy/HB00073
Mayo’s comment is way too general. They say comments were too general but say nothing specific about generalizations that MIGHT be useful. For example they say comment by original email about not lying down is not proven but they don’t say if that is good or bad. What position IS best? They don’t know. As a doctor myself preload to the heart is decreased a little while sitting rather than lying and it makes sense to me the sitting position may be better. Likewise with breathing effort. I am sitting unless scientific medical research tells me otherwise. Who exactly is the author of the Mayo response? Mayo is an institution, not a person. Come on “Mr. Mayo” you can do better than that….or can’t you?
So which is it? Is it safe to say: (1) An 81 mg aspirin a day is good for you IF your physician approves? (2) Should aspirin taken in this way REALLY be taken at night? (3) What exactly DOES the Mayo Clinic say?
Thank you!
Here is the link from Mayoclinic.com on aspirin. Thank you for your interest. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/daily-aspirin-therapy/HB00073
Would be nice if in this Mayo info sheet there was a option to forward…
Thanks.
Thank you for your suggestion. Are you referring to forwarding a blog post?
Mayo should have an option on this page to FORWARD.
Thanks.
I was looking for information regarding this email to see if the information is authentic. First, I did have a friend who was having a heart attack, called 911 and was told by the paramedics ‘DO NOT LIE DOWN’ … so maybe there is some truth that should be looked at in that statement. As for an attack on Bayer above, for years my husband was told NOT to take Bayer asperin as it was different from regular asperin. Was that Doctor just biased or was he correct? Sometimes even Dr’s don’t have the answers! Instead of Dr’s dancing around the subject on this answer board, Mayo could give some solid, practical information such as an answer to the time of day to take the asperin? Should we keep asperin hand by the bedside? Who is Lee Aase and why didn’t this Dr. actually state that he had no connection with this email? Mayo’s answer “contact your own Doctor” is a cop out to now giving good, sound information for the public. Maybe this is all about money for Doctors? OH I JUST FOUND LINK TO INFO … WAY DOWN THE PAGE … Now that really is helpful isn’t it?
Kudos to “Paul”" and “Anthony.”
I did check with my family doctor and he gave me permission to do an aspirin a night…however one side effect is clotting. As a hobby I work on a WWII bomber and sometimes cut myself on the metal. I have noticed that it does not clot as fast as I used to and when I asked the doctor he said “you are on aspirin.” No bid deal on small cuts and scraps but it is something you need to watch for.
As everyone else has stated check with your family physician first.
Stop the bickering. What may save ones life may well kill another What is good for one maybe not be true for another Use good common sence and stop bitching. If some can save some one from death then so be it.
Common sense – that the one that told us the world was flat and the entire universe revolved about the earth, etc.?
Dr. Oz says take an aspirin a day just to feel younger, so if that is true then it has double effects. Hard for me to imagine that it could make u feel younger, but for sure it decreases blood clotting (which causes many heart attacks). But I’am under the impression that a shot of brandy (or any alcohol for that matter) also thins the blood, so if u have no aspirin handy, a shot is better than death. I whole heartly agree if our best medical facilities r unwilling to pass on safe health practices, where does that leave us?
“Thinning” is not the correct word. Aspirin acts as an anticoagulant. Thinning is easier to say, but that is not what happens.
I wish people would not be so fast with uncertain and questionable forwards! Someone’s life could be at stake as a consequence. Medical questions should always be discussed with your physician. You should never play your own doctor because of a forward from who knows whom! You can do valuable reasearch on the net; but discuss your findings with your doc!
At last, someone has said it! Your health is too important for you to take advice from perhaps well meaning, but unqualified sources. If I sent you an email telling you that a new study showed that eating a raw egg every evening would cure your back pains, would you immediately “forward it to all your friends”? I certainly hope not, but I’m afraid a lot of people do just that.
Inge this is certainly not specifically directed to you and I know this is not an appropriate venue for voicing concerns about the medical welfare of our US citizens. However I just had to comment how many of us are still living with some outdated assumptions about people around us – we see everyday. Too often we look at someone and ask “what did your doctor say” or “you should call your doctor” . A large percentage of people in the US can no longer afford to see a doctor for preventative healthcare and have no insurance to cover the cost for specialists. Their “Primary Care Physician” is a Doctor on-call in an Emergency Room.
It would be nice if people could avoid reading more into health announcements than is actually in the article and avoid adding their own, albeit well-meaning personal interpretations and related information without attribution.
And, the Mayo Clinic response is a disclaimer to the article likely written by a lawyer and makes no attempt to educate the reader and which misleadingly seems to totally demonize the value of aspirin. Why not direct the reader to more accurate information listing the potential benefits and concerns and addition to consulting a physician (Otherwise, why are we required to learn to read in in school?)
I take a full aspirin a day (on a doctor’s advice years ago — since then, other doctors have advised the opposite) and still keep my aspirin handy on my key chain, and when, infrequently, “something weird starts going on” in my upper thorax I will crunch an aspirin or two and whatever it is goes away almost immediately. (I also get two physical check ups a year.)
I am apparently fortunate to have good tolerance to aspirin as I have taken them all my life, for headaches, etc.
I think this is just a case of Mayo covering its backside in case of a lawsuit. Say someone followed this advice and died. Would they have a case against the Mayo doctor and the hospital itself? Possibly.
They certainly don’t want this exposure.
As a survivor (SEVEN times) of multiple heart attacks, a recipient of numerous (5+) stents, and “victim” of THREE bypasses, I have done extensive research on the topic of heart attacks, have had numerous discussions with the cardiology departments in three major university hospitals (Univ of Penn, Cooper University, and College of Med/Dentistry NJ [Rutgers Univ]), and feel eminently qualified to speak on the subject.
What I have learned, first and foremost, is that most information and advice passed along the internet via e-mails and discussion groups is bogus, misleading, and incorrect, if not downright dangerous.
Here is just one answer to the most recent suggestion about taking aspirin with a heart attack:
http://newsblog.mayoclinic.org/2010/02/28/misleading-aspirin-email-virend-somers-mayo-clinic/
Presently, I take one each daily: baby aspirin, Ranexa, Metoporol, and Ramipril. Since this regimen was instituted 9 months ago, I have not had a single heart attack and all instances of angina have ceased. Prior to that time I was averaging an angina attack every two weeks and a major attack with a hospital stay every month for seven months.
By the way, stress tests are NOT really good predictors of attacks.
If you’d like to discuss this, see your cardiologist! I see mine once every 3 months (4X a year). I take my blood pressure twice a day and monitor my glucose (blood sugar) regularly.
Jim Weidner
jxweidner@gmail.com
Hi there,
I received the aspirin email yesterday for the first time. I made me to google for a few hours and it brought me to this site.
I take Mayo clinic as a good quality source of information, but this time I was disappointed. Their response, and most of the discussion here, misses the point of the email.
It is not about taking aspirin on a daily basis as a prevention of heart attack. It is about taking a couple of tablets once, when you think you have a heart attack.
So the question is: Could a couple of aspirin tablets do any harm to anybody?
Joe
I just received the aspirin email a couple of hours ago and without hesitation forwarded it to my regular mailing list. I immediately received a response from my cousin who wanted to know what dosage of aspirin to take in case of a heart attack, an adult aspirin or a baby aspirin, 325mg or 81mg? It’s an important bit of information that was left out of the email. “Take two aspirin” and “Don’t lie down” is pretty vague advice in an emergency situation. Does anyone have any information on dosage?
We have been informed of a recently circulated email regarding the use of aspirin, which included mention of Dr. Virend Somers and of Mayo Clinic. Neither Dr. Somers nor Mayo Clinic contributed to this email, which contains some information that is inaccurate and potentially harmful. We recommend that you speak with your physician if you have specific questions.
I had a heart attack several years ago & the 1st thing the paramedics did after verifying it with and ECG was give me 2 baby asprin.
The hospital Emergency Room also gave me two 81mg baby asperin when they thought I was having a heart attack.
I received this again today also, from an email correspondent who usually is more responsible. I’ve seen it before. This stuff goes around and around for years.
I doubt there’s anything in this email that would kill anybody, but I don’t know that. The fact that it strongly implies that the information came from a specific person at the Mayo Clinic, which has explicitly denied contributing to it for over two years, is despicable. I can well understand why the Clinic would continuously distribute the same probably-lawyer-written disclaimer. I think they’re showing amazing restraint. My reaction in the same situation would be much stronger.
If you’d just spend one minute checking the veracity of the junk emails you get before forwarding them, you’d hardly forward anything at all. That would be a good thing.
Thank you, Michael! I have taught Email and Internet classes for nearly 20 years and I always urge students to NEVER forward an email that suggests that you “forward this to all your friends”. In my years of close experience with this situation, I have yet to see the first such email that I consider authentic enough to warrant wide distribution. In many cases, these are the handiwork of juveniles who get a thrill from the thought that they have done something that will be seen by millions of people.
I have just read through all of the comments, and I wonder why the Mayo Clinic can’t do better than to repeat the SAME message: “We have been informed of a recently circulated email regarding the use of aspirin, which included mention of Dr. Virend Somers and of Mayo Clinic. Neither Dr. Somers nor Mayo Clinic contributed to this email, which contains some information that is inaccurate and potentially harmful. We recommend that you speak with your physician if you have specific questions.” I think that a number of questions asked by people have not been answered by the Mayo Clinic and I find that disappointing.
I can’t agree more with Peter. Doesn’t Mayo know there are still millions of people without access to health supervision and care. Why not issue general recommendations applicable to most people? Then add some precautionary information in cases where aspirin in cases of presumed heart attacks may have appreciable adverse effects? If I have no health insurance I take a chance, no doubt. But that doesn’t mean I should not heed good GENERAL advice even if it may kill me – because of my very specific health status. I think I should mention, I am pediatrician.
THANK YOU for publishing the disclaimer. A friend sent me the chain email this morning. I googled it (using a text string from the email) and your disclaimer was the first hit. Some of the “urban legend” web sites have picked up your disclaimer. Unfortunately, lots of people are sucked-in by the bogus advice; the chain email is on various web sites. Thanks agian!!!
By the way, I sent your disclaimer to all recipients of the email that I received.
For those people that have expressed their dissapointment with The Mayo Clinic for their response not including a detailed rebuttal and better advice about asprin therapy as it relates to heart attacks, stop and think about what you’re asking for. The Mayo Clinic and/or the referenced doctor have not conducted a study to determine the efficacy of the suggested practices or others. So would you prefer that they make up some instructions just because a random person on the internet used their name in a bogus email?
Let’s say that the email said that you (yes, you) had performed this study and that you had made these recommendations. Your response would probably be “I never made those statements” much like The Mayo Clinic’s response. Now people (like yourself) are requesting specific medical advice from you just because you were “quoted” in a chain email and because they feel shorted by the disclaimer. The obvious medical advice would be “ask your doctor” because a person’s doctor knows one’s medical history and can give a reasoned response.
So let’s go back to what you have asked for. Why do you expect The Mayo Clinic to have specific medical advice that will work for anyone, regardless of their age, health and previous conditions? Is that a realistic expectation?
Thank you for your clear thinking, Eric! I couldn’t agree more.
I also check any info before I send it to anyone. But I think the Mayo Clinic is being very vague and disclaiming this info to keep from getting sued.
The point of the article is not recommending people to take aspirin daily. It suggest that if you are already taking aspirin, take it at night. And if you have symptoms, take an aspirin. I believe this info is already common knowledge.
The information in the email should give people something to ask their physician about. But not to be totally disregarded.
In case you are fortunate to have health insurance… First thing you should do as an adult – particularly if you have relatives with heart deaths at a young age, being a smoker, diabetic, etc. etc. – is asking for a HEART RISK ASSESSMENT. The result allows personalization of approach at prevention.
Basically, in that email someone is putting words in the Mayo clinic’s mouth. They are trading on the Mayo clinics reputation to back up their own personal theory and feelings about aspirin. What do you think the Mayo Clinic is going to say ? Unless the Mayo Clinic has actually done a study, they’re not going to say anything one way or the other.
If you get any email that quotes a generic professional (in this case an unnamed cardiologist) as saying “forward this email to your friends” DON’T FORWARD THE EMAIL.
It automatically makes it very suspect. Check it on snopes and with some other professional who actually has some expertise.. 99.99% of these emails at least contain some or mostly inaccurate information.
To those complaining about not enough information.. there isn’t alot of firm agreement in the medical community on the efficacy of aspirin as a stopgap treatment for heart attack. Mayo isn’t going out on a limb on that one. They just want you to know they didn’t have anything to do with the email.. (which should let you know that the author’s motive was fake credibility.. not actual life saving.)
Those of you who are reasonably literate in medical terminology go to a medical library and consult a data base such as UpToDate or DynaMed to get an idea what to expect. Then consult your doc – or vice versa. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket; you’ll be suprised how little more than a few docs know, board-certified or not.
What about taking it at night or having it next to your bed if you think you are having a heart attach?
We cannot diagnose conditions, provide second opinions or make specific treatment recommendations through this correspondence. If you would like to seek help from Mayo Clinic, please call one of our appointment offices. The numbers can be found at http://www.mayoclinic.org/ under “request an appointment.”
However, this did appear on ABC News.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Healthday/story?id=5428369&page=1
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
July 23
SOURCES: Virend Somers, M.D., professor, medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.; Allan Pack, M.D., director, sleep center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; July 29, 2008, Journal of the American College of Cardiology
At the risk of opening up a new “can of worms” let me say this: Our culture continues to deny that we all have to die, as if dying were optional. Shouldn’t we prefer quicker, less traumatic ways out? After seeing elders warehoused for years in nursing homes with long declines, dying in one night’s sleep sounds to me like a better way out. Sometimes the discussion of “preventable deaths” mystifies me…if the American Heart Association were successful and we prevented all deaths from cardiovascular disease, then how do we expect people to die? …it would be ideal if we could all pass peacefully in the night of “old age”…
I have severe chest pains if I take asprin. so there is no need in me considering taking it. If I laid down I would most likely not wake up. medical advice is not for each individual.
and if you have a severe reaction to asprin like I do you should never take it. Dr. Oz is a big pill pusher. If you have a healthy diet and exercise there is no need for meds unless you do have a condition. I have high blood pressure and have to take meds for it.
I think everybody should use common sense in taking any medicine.and of course discuss things with your regular doctor.
For high blood pressure I suggest you check out http://www.heartattackproof.com/ and http://www.gerson.org You can lower your risk of heart attack and stroke by changing your diet. I have done and many others too. Good Luck.
I thought I had seen this e-mail before. I don’t trust e-mails that come through like this and check it out for myself. As someone has suggested they think Bayer is the one that put out this false e-mail. Asprin is aspirin no matter what brand it is. Just another money maker. And as Mayo has suggested talk with your own physician. It was my surgeon who told me to take the .81 mg. aspirin at night before I go to bed after I had had carotid artery surgery. So I go by what the doctor prescribed.
If you think you are having a heart attack I think the prudent… and common sense… first action is call 911. If you have time to kill and feel well enough for wandering about looking for aspirin while waiting for the ambulance, go right ahead. And Aspirin is a Bayer trademark. While it’s use may have become generic like Kleenex, it is still owned by Bayer. Generics will usually package their equivalents as A.S.A. or acetylsalicylic acid.
81 mg. aspirin daily (QD) is not for everyone. I can’t take it per my ENT because of nosebleeds which R caused by Cialis & Viagra (have cut way back on THOSE two as a result). This in spite of the fact that my family doc (PCP) AND my cardiologist told me to take it! Don’t ask for medical advice on a chat board! Talk to your doctors, all of them (as I did)!
Thank you B! I agree and encourage everyone to seriously discuss with their family or create a legal DNR to state their wishes with the family. My Mother died 3 years ago and we had a DNR that she filed 10 years ago before her Alzheimers was an issue. Her own directions to us made the burden easier as we grieved her passing.